# 3 Person Wine Review - Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon - second in a series



## Desertlifter (Feb 22, 2011)

I’ve been drinking more Spanish and Italian wines lately, with those tending to the less complex. I know it’s more a summer thing – perhaps I am chasing away winter with summer wines. Summer drinks and food too. Lager instead of stout. Pico de Gallo or Ceviche for dinner. Gin and Tonic. You get the idea.

With that in mind tonight was H-hour for the H3 Cabernet. No pics this time around – my bony butt is in the recliner, and I don’t plan on moving it for this cab. I’m going to enjoy it.

The wine is young in the bottle, but upon corking it already shows some maturity. The cork was a bit poorly conditioned – in this case dry – although there is certainly no intrusion whatsoever. Without several more years on the shelf, I wouldn’t expect anything different. After some breathing time I gave myself a generous pour and set to it.

The wine has a fantastic color in the glass that does not bleed at the edges of the glass at all. It is uniform and deep, as a cab should be. It holds a nice leg and a light swirl allows one to watch the legs slowly lace down the sides of the glass. On the nose I get black cherry and blackberry with a touch of buttery vanilla - I’m thinking malolactic fermentation, although I could be wrong there. There is little or no acidity showing itself as of yet.

H3 Cabernet follows the nose without too many surprises, not a bad thing. I get more of the black cherry and blackberry with a light currant note, and that buttery/vanilla mouth-feel and taste that lengthens the finish without lingering. There is little or no tannin to be found here, and the wine is balanced and smooth to a degree that belies its vintage. I only really noted much in the way of tannin when I sipped the wine under my tongue so that it only contacted the perimeter of my taste buds.

This is not a wine for “out there” meals – I would consider nothing more than a bit of bread and olive oil. This is not because it will not pair well with foods traditionally set with a cab, but that it carries enough subtle notes that it is better appreciated without competition. Not a muscular cabernet, but one that is more refined – particularly for its $11 price point. If your typical young cabernet sauvignon nowadays is compared to the pepper-bomb cigars in vogue, this would be an equally complex but more subtle one. Not boutique, but good of its own – like a nice Avo XO. Classy, but not overly expensive. But of course I am biased there.


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

*Columbia Crest H3 (Horse Haven Hills) Cabernet Sauvignon 2009*

Well this is the second wine review that Josh (joshbhs04), Brian (Desertlifter) and I have decided to do. We decided to review the Cabernet Sauvignon of this particular wine for our second three person review.

I decanted about 2/3 of the bottle and let it rest for approximately 10 minutes. The wine was stored at around 57 degrees give or take. Glasses were poured through our homemade aerator before tasting. Initial swirl of the glass shows that the wine appears to have some legs and some depth. The color is deep, dark and rich looking. You certainly can't see through the wine. Smelling the wine reveals a lightness, and a floral note to me with a hint of fruit - cherry I'm thinking. My wife got fairly strong cherry notes and said it was a little on the dry side on the finish. Neither of us are picking up any significant sweetness at all. I get a bit of cocoa and tannin on the finish but neither are too strong or dominant. Neither of us detect any aftertaste and the finish is light, airy and smooth. My wife thinks this is an easy wine to drink right off the bat. I don't disagree but I'm not as sold as she is.

As stated previously the finish is short and light. There is a light coating of the glass on each sip indicating minimal depth and body to the wine, at least in my opinion. As we progress through the glass the cherry becomes more prominent but the floral notes are still in the background. The cocoa and tannin on the finish are barely noticeable but still present. My wife feels like this is a very easy drinking wine all by itself and doesn't really call out to be paired with anything significant. I have to agree on that point.

On to our second glass and this wine and while she is really enjoying it, I'm still not completely sold. I definitely liked the Merlot version of this wine better. All in all, my wife is very impressed by this wine while I'm only so-so. Don't get me wrong, I like it&#8230; just not as much as the Merlot from this same vineyard. The finish remains light and short, and I still don't find a lot of complexity to it. It is a very good wine to her and just a good wine to me. I would say that it is worth the price but it hasn't made it to my "must buy" list yet.

Enjoy, Shawn & Susan


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## joshbhs04 (May 30, 2011)

Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon
Vintage 2009
Horse Heaven Hills region Washington.

Color- Very dark. Definitely cannot see through this one. 









Aroma- Lots and lots of cherry in this one. 









First Sip- Honestly I can't pick anything up with this. Something is overpowering my palate.
Continued- After my second taste I picked up cocoa with possible hints of raisin but not totally sure on that. Tannins are present but not overbearing. The raisin(ish) flavor is presenting itself more now. This is an example of a mild cab to me. Lots of subtle flavors that I cannot pick up. I'm sure the other two, and there older more experienced palates are able to pick them up better.

Intensity- As stated above this cab is not very intense. When I think young cab I think power and this wine is not one of those.
Finish- Extermely light finish. This wine is easy to drink.

Conclusion- Another good wine from Columbia Crest especially for the 12 dollar price tag.


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## Oldmso54 (Jul 31, 2010)

Did Josh just call me "old"??? LOL! I too had trouble picking up on a lot of the nuances and flavors but my wife had strong thoughts right from the first sip. It is very, very interesting to see what each of us gets from these same exact wines. I'm really enjoying the process and hope we keep it going gents!


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## joshbhs04 (May 30, 2011)

Shawn, you may be older but I know from experience that you can put some beers back with the best of us youngins haha. I am ready to keep on going with this. Brian is looking for the wine we talked about and if he cant get it we can choose something else.


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